House letter-box



J. P.;WOLLENS 'AK. HOUSE LETTER BOX- v Patent ed'Jan. 9 1894 WSW.

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UNrrs T FEICE JOHN F. WOLLENSAK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HOUSE LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,350, dated January 9, 1894.

Application filed March 2'7, 1893.

To an whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN F. WOLLENSAK, acitizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, Illinois, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Boxes, of which the following is a specifiation.

The object of my invention is to make boxes for receiving letters and other mail matter usually used in aparment houses detachable, so that its various parts may be readily taken apart and put together at the place of use without disturbing the wood or marble slabs or waiuscoting to which they are attached; and my invention consists in the features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the, drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective v1ew of one of my improved letter boxes; and Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the rear portion showing the method of combining the parts forming the box.

In making my improved letter box, I make a face plate, A, of a piece of metal of the desired size and shape. This plate is provided with the usual aperture, a, for the introduct-ion of letters and other matter, and with a door, A, to permit access to the box for the removal of its contents. The door may also be provided with a recess, a, for the insertion of a name card, and with an opening, A containing a pane of glass or a piece of reticulated material to permit the owner to see whether anything is contained in the box. The face plate is provided on its rear side at top and bottomwith lugs B, which maybe cast integral with the plate. It is also provided with longitudinal ribs, B, and with lugs, 17, which may also be cast integral with the plate. The lugs are arranged outside of the ribs and with a desired space between them, as shown in Fig. 2. The bottom and top pieces, 0, are intended to be connected or fastened to the face plate by means of screws, a, passing through the same into screw threaded holes in the lugs B. The bottom and top pieces are also provided with lugs, 0, projecting inwardly from their inner surfaces. One or more lugs, 0 should be located a desired distance inside of the outer row of lugs, so that there will be a space or groove between the inner and outer lugs, as there is between the ribs B and lugs 12, on the back Serial No. 467,78'7- (No model.)

of the face plate. The body portion, D, of the letter box is made of tin, which may be bent out of one piece, so as to form the back and sides, or made in three separate pieces, with the edges interlocking, asat d, in Fig. 2. I prefer to make them as shown in the drawings, as when thus made they can be readily taken apart for the purpose of shipment.

In putting the letter box together the bottom is fastened in place and the body portion, if made as shown in the drawings, assembled together and slid in from the top, with its side edges resting in the groove formed by the ribs B and lug b, of the face plate, and with its end edges resting in the groove formed between the lugs c and 0 When the body portion of the box has thus been slid into position, the top is put on and held by a screw passing into the top lug B, with its lugs 0, c embracing the top edge of the sides and back of the body portion. In this way, the body portion is securely fastened and held in position.

Although I have shown the bottom of the box as made of a solid piece or plate, yet, if preferred, it may be made of perforated or reticulated material, so that any dust getting into the box may fall through and leave the box clean. I may also say that the lugs on the back of the face plate and on the end pieces may be cast as continuous ribs, instead of being disconnected, as shown in the drawings, or the ribs may be cast as separate lugs, and in the claimsI shall use the word lugs to cover either separate lugs or continuous ribs.

By making the letter box as above described, it may be taken to pieces and arranged in a flat package for the purpose of storage or shipment. When it is desired to apply it to use, it may be put together and fastened to the wood or marble slab or wainscoting by screws through the holes E, with the body portion inserted through the slab or wainscoting, so as to bring the face plate flush therewith. When desired to remove it it, can be readily taken out by removing the screws holding it in place, Without removing or disturbing the slab or material to which'it is fastened.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure comprising a face plate having an opening for the insertion of mail matter and a door through which the mail matter may be extracted, means by which the face plate may be secured to a supporting wall, end plates forming the top and bottom of the boxes detachably secured to the rear of the face plate and provided with inwardly projecting lugs adapted to receive, and support in position a sheet metal body portion, and a sheet metal body portion adapted to be held in place by the end pieces of the boxes, substantially as described.

2. A self-contained letter box for houses, comprising a face plate having an opening for the insertion of mail matter and a door through which the mail matter may be removed, means by which the face plate may be secured to a supporting wall, end plates forming the top and bottom of the boxes detachably secured to the rear of the face plate and provided with inwardly projecting lugs adapted to receive and support in position a sheet metal body portion, and a sheet metal body portion built up of several pieces of sheet metal detachably secured to each other and adapted to be held in position by the end pieces, substantially as described.

' JOHN F. WOLLENSAK. Vitnesses:

FRED. D. EARLL, ADDISON E. STONE. 

